Dan Burn has come a long way since the days when Craig Liddle had to “hammer him” from the touchline to the point that he doubted he even wanted to be a footballer.
But having given Burn the first big step in his career, Liddle is not surprised the “very gangly” and “unsure” lad he knew today completes an 18-year path back to boyhood club Newcastle.
Liddle was assistant manager at Darlington when he identified Burn, released five years earlier from Newcastle’s academy, as a star in the making at Blyth Spartans.
